Earthquake

We are safe and sound after the earthquake this afternoon. The epicenter was far enough away that the only thing that happened here was some shower curtains rattling. We were actually enjoying a nap and slept right through it. Chongqing was hit hard. We heard that several children died when a school collapsed. We feel very fortunate that we were safe here. One of the members of our travel group called our guide from Chongqing Sophie, and she's fine as well.

This morning we went to a clinic for David's mandatory medical exam. I think the purpose is to make sure he's not running around with raging tuberculosis or bird flu or something. (It is entirely possible that we all caught worse than that during our time there.) It was an absolute madhouse. Nothing makes for a happy toddler like chaos and people in white coats and masks. The exam was pretty much a joke. David has some molluscum, which are bumps on the skin caused by a virus, totally benign and no treatment required. The doctors at the clinic had no idea what it was, and I had to explain to them through our guide. We're happy it's over, and that we're one more step closer to home.

This afternoon while I filled out the necessary paperwork for the consulate, David took a long nap with Kevin. He woke up refreshed and ready to throw down some Cantonese dinner. He ate nonstop from the time we sat down--steamed egg, green beans, brocolli, eggplant, rice. We followed up dinner with some ice cream. Because we are good parents, we have already discovered that David likes chocolate donuts, banana bread, oreos, pizza and now ice cream. All that in only a week.

Tai chi in the park

Kevin and David in the park

First ice cream cone